Sweetwater County residents will be going to the polls this Tuesday to cast their votes on a sales and use tax proposition aimed at increasing revenues for the county over the next four years.
A portion of that tax revenue is being cited for improved public safety and economic development in the county and municipalities. Funding for ambulance services has been the hottest topic of discussion among county and municipal government officials for more than a year.
Increases in sales and use tax have been lukewarm among Sweetwater County voters in the past. It’s important to note that a general-purpose tax and a specific use tax aren’t the same things. General use taxes don’t have to be earmarked for anything specific. Those revenues usually go toward funding ongoing operations like fire, police, and ambulance services.
Specific use tax revenues are clearly defined for services or projects before voters even go to the poll.
Specific use tax proposals generally fare more favorably among local voters. A 2013 ballot initiative generated more than $26.2 million for the City of Rock Springs. Those funds were used for the following:
| Stagecoach Blvd./Sweetwater Drive Roadway Improvements Project | $5,138,633.18 |
| Gateway Pump Station & Transmission Line Project | $1,692,330.43 |
| Water Reclamation Facility Phase II Improvements | $5.390.184.00 |
| Miscellaneous Sanitary Sewer System Rehabilitation Project | $2,726,298.17 |
| 20″ Water Transmission Line Replacement Project | $5,236,095.08 |
| Miscellaneous Storm Sewer Improvements Project | $4,697,248.23 |
| Miscellaneous Waterline Rehabilitation Project | $1,328,911.93 |
In Green River, the last specific use tax increase was used to fund part or all of the repairs and updates to East Teton Blvd, Apache Ave, Locust, N 4th E, Wind River Dr, 2nd South, E Railroad, and N 5th E, Hitching Post Dr., Evans St., and Knotty Pine, according to city administrator Reed Clevenger.
The city also recently completed a chip seal and seal coat to over 6 miles of road this year, Clevenger added.
General use tax revenues have been declining at a rate of roughly $2 million a year in Sweetwater County since fiscal year 2019, according to statistics from the Wyoming Department of Revenue.
In FY 2019 the tax generated $17.6 million. But that number fell to $15.8 million in FY 2020, and in the last fiscal year, general-purpose tax revenue dropped to $13.6 million.
City and county government officials generally agree that Sweetwater County is facing a tough situation with the decline in review. But while the county commissioner and Green River City Council approved putting the initiative up to the voters, the Rock Springs City Council voted against the initiative in July.
An initiative must be approved by 50% of the municipalities in a county before it can be put on a ballot, so now it will be up to the residents of Sweetwater County to decide on Tuesday.
State law mandates that general-purpose taxes may be levied by increments of 0.5 percent, and cannot exceed 2 percent. Therefore, this proposed tax would be in addition to the current 1 percent sales and use tax already on the books, as well as the 4 percent that goes to the state.
